Doctor faces trial for having sex with mentally unstable patients

A 63-year-old doctor went on trial in the southern German state of Bavaria on Monday, accused of having sex with his patients.

The prosecution claims the physician, who has not been identified under Germany’s strict privacy laws, exploited the trust of three of his mentally unstable patients to have sex with them, sometimes without treating the women.

A trained psychotherapist, the doctor committed the acts either in his practice or in the women’s homes, the prosecution said, adding that he could face imprisonment of between three months and five years.

Prosecutors said in an earlier statement on the case that the doctor had regularly asked mentally ill patients to come to his surgery between 2012 and 2015, usually in the late evening hours.

He is alleged to have told the women that sex was part of the therapy.

Eventually, one of the women called the police.

The accused admitted the allegations in a statement made through his lawyer in February.